Mobile TV would now be a reality in EU as the member states have agreed to standardize and promote this concept and facilitate operators to make it available to the public soon.

As per the news published by Xinhua , European Union (EU) member states came to a consensus on November 29, 2007 to encourage mobile TV by deregulating licensing and providing spectrum for these services.

On the demand of the European Commission, all 27 EU governments have been asked to support DVB-H, or Digital Video Broadcasting for Handhelds, and also to find ways to permit its use as to assist in promoting the roll out of broadcasts to mobile phones.

DVB-H has been recognized as an open standard introduced by consortium on Digital Video Broadcasting. It is an integral part of interoperable standards, along with DVB-S for digital satellite TV, DVB-T for digital terrestrial TV, and DVB-C for digital cable TV.

Presently, DVB-H has been introduced in 19 out of 27 member states. Apart from Europe, countries like Japan and South Korea jointly have 20 Million subscribers of mobile TV, which is over 30-fold the volume of users in EU.

The reason why the EU member states came to a consensus over mobile TV is because this is an exceptional way to evade format wars –for example the clash between movie disc types such as HD DVD and Blu Ray that may prevent new technology from spreading.

The commission also takes into consideration 2008 to be an important year for mobile TV in EU since major sporting events like the European Football Championship and the Summer Olympics in Beijing, which will offer an excellent opportunity for increasing consumer’s attentiveness and for acceptance of newer services. Many people are anticipated to use their phones to witness these sporting events.

As per Viviane Reding, EU commissioner for information society and media, the mobile TV market could be worth €20 Billion or even $29 Billion by 2011 and can touch 500 Million customers worldwide, according to the news published by IHT.

As per a Research Analyst at RNCOS , “The decision to adopt a single mobile TV standard in Europe is sure to help in stabilizing and eliminating any confusion in the mobile market. The concept of mobile TV will also have a positive impact on the demands of consumers as it’s an excellent way of accessing TV anytime and wherever you may be.”

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China Telecom Analysis (2008-2012)
Indian Telecom Analysis (2008-2012)
Middle East Broadband Forecast to 2010